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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: chair · ball · file · wound · mark · rash · temple · branch

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. file — a tool
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. file — a document
  8. branch — a division
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. rash — hasty
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rash — a series
  19. ball — a great time
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. file — a line of people
  24. chair — a leader

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