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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: mug · stick · band · cold · pit · toast · branch · pitcher

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. band — a ring
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cold — an illness
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pit — a hole
  21. branch — a division
  22. mug — to rob
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. band — a music group

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