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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 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spell — letters
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. chest — of your body
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. court — of a king
  7. spell — magic
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. court — for sport
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. press — to push
  16. spell — a short time
  17. foot — a measure
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. court — of law
  24. press — newspapers

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