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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rash — a series
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. field — for sport
  12. rash — hasty
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. mark — a grade
  15. field — farmland
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. mark — a trace

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