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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a ring
  3. spell — a short time
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. spell — letters
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wind — moving air
  8. band — a music group
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bark — to shout
  11. branch — a division
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. spell — magic
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chair — a leader
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bark — of a tree

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