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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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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: chair · kid · pitcher · branch · key · face

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. branch — a division
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chair — a leader
  7. key — for a lock
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. key — in music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. face — to point toward
  12. key — the most important part
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. face — to confront
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kid — child

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