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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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 rubber band
  2. chair — a leader
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. present — a gift
  6. lean — thin
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lean — to bend
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. band — a music group
  16. present — there
  17. band — a ring
  18. present — the time now
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. scale — in music
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. branch — of a tree
  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