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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — the fish
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bass — low music
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. net — after costs
  14. branch — a division
  15. game — a match
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bark — to shout
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wake — a trail

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