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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bound — obliged
  3. branch — a division
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. file — a document
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. suit — in cards
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chair — a leader
  21. suit — to fit
  22. suit — clothes
  23. mate — a friend
  24. file — a tool

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