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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 116 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chair — a leader
  3. root — of a word
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. face — to point toward
  8. root — the cause
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — to confront
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. capital — a city
  13. land — a country
  14. branch — a division
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. land — to come down
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. land — ground
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. root — of a plant
  23. face — part of the head
  24. capital — money

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