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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chest — a box
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. chair — a leader
  8. branch — a division
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — a thing
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. spring — of water
  14. object — to protest
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. object — an aim
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. spring — the season
  20. kid — child
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kid — to tease

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