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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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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: band · lean · bass · file · clip · board · branch · field

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. board — to get on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. board — a committee
  10. file — a line of people
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. band — a music group
  13. branch — a division
  14. lean — to bend
  15. file — a document
  16. clip — a video
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bass — low music
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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