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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: band · bulb · cue · tear · branch · chair · stick · fork

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. branch — a division
  7. cue — for pool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. band — a ring
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cue — a hint
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. chair — a leader
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a music group
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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