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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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 tree
  3. hand — in cards
  4. land — ground
  5. content — happy
  6. land — a country
  7. lean — to bend
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pass — a permit
  13. chest — a box
  14. hand — help
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. content — the amount
  17. lean — thin
  18. land — to come down
  19. chest — of your body
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. branch — a division
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. hand — part of the body

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