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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. game — wild animals
  8. branch — a division
  9. clip — a video
  10. land — to come down
  11. staff — employees
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. land — ground
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. land — a country
  22. clip — for paper
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — a match

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