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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. swing — to play on
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fall — to drop
  7. band — a music group
  8. object — a thing
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. swing — music
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. band — a ring
  16. object — an aim
  17. fall — the season
  18. object — to protest
  19. shower — rain
  20. craft — a skill
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. swing — in golf
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wound — an injury

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