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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. club — a group
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. fall — to drop
  8. club — for golf
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pop — soda
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. fall — the season
  14. sharp — clever
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. branch — a division
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — moving air

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