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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bank — of a river
  7. court — for sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. squash — the sport
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. court — of law
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. court — of a king
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. band — a ring
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wound — an injury
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chair — a leader
  24. leaves — of a tree

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