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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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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: stock · squash · club · wave · band · branch · tube · clip

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. tube — the underground
  7. clip — a video
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. club — for golf
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tube — a container
  17. clip — to cut
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. band — a ring
  23. clip — for paper
  24. club — a group

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