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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. band — a music group
  3. march — music
  4. face — to point toward
  5. board — a committee
  6. branch — a division
  7. row — a line
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. face — to confront
  10. club — for dancing
  11. face — part of the head
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. pit — in a race
  15. board — to get on
  16. pit — a hole
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. club — for golf
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. club — a group
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. row — to paddle

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