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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: bulb · branch · wave · rash · content · fork · band · race

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. branch — a division
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. band — a music group
  6. bulb — for light
  7. content — the amount
  8. rash — a series
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rash — hasty
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. race — a contest
  23. band — a ring
  24. branch — of a bank

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