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

Word bank: band · kick · field · branch · cell · cue · lie · game

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. branch — a division
  3. field — farmland
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cue — a signal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — in football
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. band — a ring
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. lie — to recline
  20. band — a music group
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — for sport
  23. game — a match
  24. field — a subject

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