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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · deal · spring · pass · land · branch · chest · jam

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. land — to come down
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. branch — a division
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. spring — of water
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. land — ground
  22. spring — the season
  23. band — a music group
  24. chest — of your body

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