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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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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: bass · branch · foot · trunk · band · file · straw · mine

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. trunk — of a tree
  2. file — a tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. band — a music group
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bass — the fish
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. branch — a division
  12. foot — a measure
  13. bass — low music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. band — a ring
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. file — a document
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. band — a rubber band
  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