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

Word bank: rest · chair · club · stick · arm · branch · racket · rule

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rule — government
  4. club — for dancing
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rule — a law
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. club — for golf
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rest — what's left
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rest — a break
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — a division
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. club — a group
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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