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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. branch — a division
  3. race — a contest
  4. spell — a short time
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. land — to come down
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — humankind
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. foot — a measure
  14. deal — to handle
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. race — the arms race
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. fall — the season
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. spell — magic

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