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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bound — certain
  6. branch — a division
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bound — obliged
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bound — tied together
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. band — a music group
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. squash — to crush

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