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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. branch — a division
  5. snap — to click
  6. row — to paddle
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. key — the most important part
  9. rest — what's left
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. key — for a lock
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. row — a line
  21. chair — a leader
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. key — in music
  24. leaves — lets stay

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