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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. foot — a measure
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chair — a leader
  15. perch — the fish
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. branch — a division
  24. trunk — of a tree

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