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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. band — a ring
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. file — a document
  8. branch — a division
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bank — for money
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bank — for money
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bank — of a river
  17. file — a tool
  18. pit — in a race
  19. rock — music
  20. perch — the fish
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chair — to sit on

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