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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: spell · chest · band · hide · branch · rash · stock · lean

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — magic
  3. rash — a series
  4. spell — a short time
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. lean — to bend
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. spell — letters
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. lean — thin
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stock — goods
  20. chest — a box
  21. band — a music group
  22. stock — shares
  23. branch — a division
  24. hide — to keep secret

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