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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. file — a tool
  5. branch — a division
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. file — a line of people
  11. row — a line
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. drill — army training
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. file — a document
  19. date — the fruit
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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