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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 120 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: branch · race · stock · swing · kid · foot · rule · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. branch — a division
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. race — humankind
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stock — shares
  13. foot — a measure
  14. race — a contest
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rule — government
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. race — the arms race
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. stock — goods
  22. rule — a law
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. kid — child

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