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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: object · stand · face · chair · date · branch · lash · cold

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. object — an aim
  5. branch — a division
  6. cold — an illness
  7. face — to point toward
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. object — to protest
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. face — to confront
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stand — to bear
  16. face — part of the head
  17. date — the fruit
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. object — a thing
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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