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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bear — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pass — a permit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. band — a music group
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kick — in football
  18. branch — a division
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. bear — the animal
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bear — to put up with

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