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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. charge — electricity
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — for betting
  7. row — a line
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. degree — from a university
  11. branch — a division
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wax — to grow
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. charge — in control
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. band — a music group
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. degree — an amount
  22. row — to paddle
  23. band — a ring
  24. charge — a price

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