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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. land — to come down
  3. fall — to drop
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. land — ground
  7. band — a music group
  8. roll — a cake
  9. fall — the season
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. race — the arms race
  15. land — a country
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. fall — to drop
  18. race — humankind
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. club — for golf
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. race — a contest
  24. branch — a division

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