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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rush · band · kick · face · present · fall · branch · bass

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. fall — the season
  4. present — a gift
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. face — to confront
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — hurry
  9. kick — in football
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. band — a music group
  12. bass — low music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. band — a ring
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. present — the time now
  23. face — to point toward
  24. present — there

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