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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: ground · branch · pit · lean · wound · field · date · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. date — the fruit
  3. lean — to bend
  4. branch — a division
  5. pit — in a race
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. band — a music group
  14. lean — thin
  15. ground — the earth
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ground — a position
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pit — a hole

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