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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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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: bat · chair · face · wake · branch · lean · kid · ruler

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. wake — a trail
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. face — to confront
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bat — the animal
  10. face — part of the head
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. branch — a division
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. lean — thin
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. branch — of a bank

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