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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: row · branch · mouse · band · net · pitcher · field · tube

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. field — farmland
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. band — a music group
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. row — a line
  10. branch — a division
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tube — the underground
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. net — for catching
  22. tube — a container
  23. field — for sport
  24. band — a ring

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