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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. row — a line
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. file — a line of people
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fall — to drop
  17. file — a document
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fall — the season

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