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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. band — a music group
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. tear — from crying
  8. branch — a division
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. tear — to rip
  12. band — a ring
  13. net — in sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bark — to shout
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. net — for catching
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. net — after costs
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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