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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — ground
  5. branch — a division
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. key — in music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — a box
  14. chair — a leader
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bulb — for light
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. key — for a lock

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