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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. band — a music group
  3. last — final
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. branch — a division
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. kid — child
  8. stem — to come from
  9. club — for golf
  10. last — to go on
  11. club — a group
  12. last — finally
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. band — a ring
  17. club — for dancing
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. kid — to tease
  21. drill — army training
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ruler — for measuring

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