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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — a division
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. game — a match
  10. bank — for money
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — of a river
  17. chair — a leader
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — help
  22. dip — to sink
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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