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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: trunk · rush · branch · wake · band · field · chest · mate

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. field — for sport
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wake — a trail
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. field — a subject
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. branch — a division
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mate — a partner
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chest — a box
  23. field — farmland
  24. mate — to breed

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