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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bank — for money
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. row — a line
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. field — for sport
  10. scale — in music
  11. bank — of a river
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rush — hurry
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bank — for money
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. field — farmland
  20. scale — size or range
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. band — a ring
  23. tear — from crying
  24. band — a music group

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