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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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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: rush · bank · branch · rule · dip · march · band · bark

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. branch — a division
  5. rush — hurry
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rule — a law
  11. band — a ring
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. dip — to sink
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. band — a music group
  22. march — music
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bark — to shout

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