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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. band — a music group
  3. rush — hurry
  4. content — the amount
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. branch — a division
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a hole
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. band — a ring
  18. content — happy
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tear — to rip
  24. band — a rubber band

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com