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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: sharp · rule · mine · fan · swing · branch · prune · chair

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rule — a law
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chair — a leader
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. branch — a division
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rule — government
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. swing — music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. sharp — clever
  20. swing — to play on
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. swing — in golf
  24. chair — a professorship

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