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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. club — for golf
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. ground — crushed
  18. branch — a division
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ground — a position
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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