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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. branch — a division
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spell — magic
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. tube — a container
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. club — a group
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chair — a leader
  24. tube — in a tire

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