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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. band — a ring
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. band — a music group
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — an illness
  21. branch — a division
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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