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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: snap · branch · chair · racket · spell · band · row · kick

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — magic
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. row — to paddle
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. band — a music group
  15. branch — a division
  16. snap — to click
  17. spell — letters
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. spell — a short time
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. racket — for tennis

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