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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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mark — a trace
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mark — a grade
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chip — for betting
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. can — to be able to
  14. chip — to eat
  15. band — a ring
  16. can — a tin
  17. drill — the tool
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. race — a contest
  20. hand — help
  21. race — humankind
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. can — a tin
  24. chip — in a computer

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