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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: cell · wake · branch · mouse · wind · cap · mine · band

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — a trail
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mine — for digging
  8. band — a music group
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. band — a ring
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. branch — a division
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — a hat
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cap — of ice
  24. wake — before a funeral

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