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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 124 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. kid — child
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mark — a trace
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mark — a grade
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. band — a ring
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

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