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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · cell · chair · branch · suit · march · bowl · cold

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. march — music
  7. suit — in cards
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — a division
  10. cell — in biology
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chair — a leader
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — a phone
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. suit — clothes
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. fan — a supporter

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