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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wound — an injury
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bank — for money
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bank — of a river
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bank — for money
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. branch — a division

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