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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 120 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. chair — a leader
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. net — for catching
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. branch — a division
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. file — a tool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. net — after costs
  19. file — a document
  20. lie — to recline
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wave — with your hand

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