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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. net — after costs
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. object — to protest
  10. branch — a division
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. snap — to click
  13. net — in sport
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. net — for catching
  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