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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: mine · pop · date · bay · row · fan · band · branch

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. band — a ring
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. pop — soda
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. branch — a division
  8. date — the fruit
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mine — belonging to me

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