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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. rash — hasty
  3. hand — help
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — a division
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. charge — electricity
  12. drill — the tool
  13. chair — a leader
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. charge — in control
  18. file — a document
  19. rash — a series
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. drill — a practice
  22. charge — a price
  23. drill — army training
  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