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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: branch · band · mine · kid · jam · stick · mug · bat

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bat — the animal
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. band — a music group
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. kid — to tease
  18. band — a ring
  19. kid — child
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. branch — a division
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. branch — of a tree

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