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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — for digging
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. branch — a division
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — a safe
  16. root — of a word
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. root — the cause
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. snap — to click

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