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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chair — a leader
  4. track — a song
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. drill — army training
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rock — music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. track — a path
  16. fine — high quality
  17. kid — child
  18. branch — a division
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. fine — all right
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rock — a stone

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