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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 cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a leader
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mug — to rob
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a face
  9. tear — to rip
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. file — a document
  12. branch — a division
  13. land — to come down
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. file — a line of people
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mug — a cup
  22. land — a country
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. land — ground

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