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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cap — a hat
  4. last — final
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. last — finally
  7. degree — temperature
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cap — of ice
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — music
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hand — help
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cap — a lid
  18. branch — a division
  19. swing — to play on
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — an amount
  22. last — to go on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — a leader

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