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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rush — hurry
  4. track — a song
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. chest — a box
  7. bass — low music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. branch — a division
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chest — of your body
  14. track — to keep track
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. track — a path
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stem — to come from
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rush — to hurry

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