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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spring — of water
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. band — a music group
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. roll — a cake
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — crushed
  10. club — for dancing
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. roll — a list
  15. ground — the earth
  16. club — for golf
  17. spring — the season
  18. chair — a leader
  19. ground — a position
  20. band — a ring
  21. club — a group
  22. branch — a division
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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