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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. game — wild animals
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. band — a ring
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. press — newspapers
  16. branch — a division
  17. press — to push
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. game — a match
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. band — a rubber band

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