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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chair — a leader
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. club — for golf
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. shower — rain
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. shower — to wash
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. branch — a division
  22. club — a group
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wind — to turn a key

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