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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. file — a line of people
  3. branch — a division
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pop — music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. file — a tool
  11. band — a music group
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a document
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

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