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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rule — government
  8. root — of a word
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wake — a trail
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bat — the animal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. root — of a plant
  15. hand — help
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. root — the cause
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rule — a law
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. racket — for tennis

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