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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. track — a song
  11. rash — hasty
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. track — a path
  16. band — a ring
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rash — a series
  19. court — of a king
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. branch — a division
  22. present — a gift
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. track — to keep track

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