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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. net — in sport
  3. band — a music group
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — a subject
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. branch — a division
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. net — for catching
  14. rest — a break
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chair — a leader
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. band — a ring
  24. net — after costs

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