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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pass — a permit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cell — a phone
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. chair — a leader
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. shower — to wash
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. branch — a division
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. tube — a container

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