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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. firm — a company
  3. club — a group
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. club — for golf
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pitch — completely
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. prune — to trim
  15. firm — decided
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. firm — steady
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. club — for dancing
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. branch — a division
  24. cell — in a prison

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