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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: roll · race · branch · bat · field · row · chair · mouse

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. race — the arms race
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. branch — a division
  20. roll — a cake
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. race — a contest
  24. roll — a list

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