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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wound — an injury
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. scale — size or range
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. branch — a division
  13. fine — high quality
  14. scale — in music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — all right
  18. wind — moving air
  19. foot — a measure
  20. chair — a leader
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. jam — a tight spot

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