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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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Word bank
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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: branch · band · wound · squash · trunk · object · straw · field

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — to crush
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. object — an aim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. object — a thing
  12. field — a subject
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. band — a music group
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. branch — a division
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. squash — the sport
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. object — to protest
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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