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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. branch — a division
  6. pitch — completely
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. season — in sport
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. swing — music
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. season — of the year
  22. wax — to grow
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bat — the animal

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