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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: band · kick · branch · season · kid · fork · race · rash

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. band — a ring
  9. race — a contest
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — humankind
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. season — in sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — in football
  19. race — the arms race
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. branch — a division
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. kid — child
  24. branch — of a bank

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