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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: drill · march · bank · branch · band · fine · staff · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. fine — high quality
  3. staff — a stick
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fine — all right
  6. staff — employees
  7. march — the month
  8. bank — for money
  9. march — the month
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. drill — the tool
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bank — of a river
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. band — a ring
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. march — music
  20. bank — for money
  21. band — a music group
  22. drill — army training
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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