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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. spell — letters
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. last — finally
  5. pit — a hole
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. last — to go on
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. branch — a division
  16. bass — the fish
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rule — government
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rule — a law
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. last — final
  23. spell — magic
  24. chair — a professorship

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