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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. track — a song
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. squash — to crush
  12. band — a ring
  13. squash — the sport
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cue — for pool
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — a division
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — a hint

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