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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. drill — a practice
  6. field — a subject
  7. root — the cause
  8. drill — the tool
  9. field — farmland
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. root — of a plant
  14. chair — a leader
  15. drill — army training
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. root — of a word
  18. field — for sport
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. branch — a division
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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