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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — wild animals
  3. branch — a division
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bass — low music
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a match
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — shares
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bound — certain
  24. branch — of a tree

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