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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · rest · branch · current · band · cold · face · last

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rest — what's left
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — final
  6. branch — a division
  7. band — a music group
  8. current — of water
  9. last — finally
  10. cold — not warm
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. board — to get on
  13. rest — a break
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. last — to go on
  16. rest — what's left
  17. current — happening now
  18. face — to point toward
  19. board — a committee
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — part of the head
  22. current — electric
  23. face — to confront
  24. band — a rubber band

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