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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. wound — an injury
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chest — a box
  9. content — the amount
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. content — happy
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rule — government
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — a division
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — a law
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chest — of your body
  22. race — a contest
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. race — humankind

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