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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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 — a leader
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mate — a friend
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. branch — a division
  14. mate — a partner
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. scale — in music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. scale — size or range
  22. tube — a container
  23. chair — to sit on
  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