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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mate — to breed
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitch — completely
  15. ball — a great time
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mate — a friend
  20. band — a music group
  21. swing — in golf
  22. ball — a dance
  23. swing — music
  24. ball — a round shape

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