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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. row — a line
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fork — in a road
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. branch — a division
  17. lean — thin
  18. prune — to trim
  19. snap — to click
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. row — to paddle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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