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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.

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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. clip — to cut
  4. content — happy
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — a leader
  8. row — a line
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. club — for dancing
  11. content — the amount
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. clip — a video
  15. club — a group
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. branch — a division
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — for paper

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