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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kick — in football
  3. band — a music group
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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