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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mate — to breed
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pop — music
  8. firm — a company
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chair — a leader
  12. firm — decided
  13. pop — soda
  14. branch — a division
  15. key — the most important part
  16. firm — steady
  17. mate — a partner
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. key — in music
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a line of people
  24. branch — of a bank

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