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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. club — a group
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. staff — employees
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. swing — music
  9. club — for golf
  10. shower — to wash
  11. lean — thin
  12. capital — a city
  13. swing — in golf
  14. staff — a stick
  15. swing — to play on
  16. club — for dancing
  17. lean — to bend
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. shower — rain
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. chair — to sit on
  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