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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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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: snap · lie · bass · fall · chair · saw · last · branch

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. last — to go on
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chair — a leader
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — the season
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. last — final
  19. lie — to recline
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. last — finally
  23. branch — a division
  24. snap — to click

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