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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. club — for golf
  5. last — final
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rash — hasty
  9. last — to go on
  10. club — a group
  11. rash — a series
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. last — finally
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. branch — a division
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. season — in sport

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