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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 120 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: fan · safe · staff · row · rash · chair · band · branch

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. band — a music group
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. branch — a division
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. staff — a stick
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. chair — a leader
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. band — a ring
  24. rash — a series

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