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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. staff — a stick
  3. shower — to wash
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. band — a ring
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. scale — in music
  12. staff — employees
  13. scale — size or range
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — employees
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. perch — the fish
  24. band — a music group

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