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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · chair · game · club · branch · chest · court · file

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. court — of law
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a tool
  5. spell — magic
  6. club — for dancing
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. court — for sport
  11. club — for golf
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. file — a document
  15. club — a group
  16. spell — letters
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chair — a leader
  19. file — a line of people
  20. branch — a division
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. court — of a king
  24. chest — of your body

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