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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. object — an aim
  3. cold — an illness
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. season — in sport
  6. pass — a permit
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rest — a break
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — what's left
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. season — of the year
  17. object — to protest
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. branch — a division
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rest — what's left
  24. object — a thing

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