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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chair — a leader
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. fork — in a road
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. date — the fruit
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ball — a dance
  15. lean — thin
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. branch — a division
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fork — to eat with

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