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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — a division
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cold — not warm
  6. key — for a lock
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wake — a trail
  9. key — the most important part
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. key — in music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — an illness

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