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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cue — a hint
  3. branch — a division
  4. cue — for pool
  5. track — a path
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cell — in biology
  10. track — to keep track
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. track — a song
  16. hand — in cards
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. band — a music group
  20. cue — a signal
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cell — a phone

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