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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · last · hand · chair · lean · branch

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hand — in cards
  4. branch — a division
  5. lean — thin
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — a leader
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. last — final
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — to go on
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. hand — help
  18. mine — an explosive

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