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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. band — a ring
  11. current — of water
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. spring — of water
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — the season
  16. branch — a division
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spring — a coil

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