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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bass — low music
  3. bound — certain
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bass — the fish
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rock — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bound — tied together
  20. band — a music group
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. band — a ring
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. coach — a trainer

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