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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: fall · cue · land · march · bark · ball · branch · band

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. ball — a great time
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — to come down
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. band — a ring
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. fall — the season
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — a division
  21. band — a music group
  22. cue — a signal
  23. land — ground
  24. band — a rubber band

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