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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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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: face · chair · branch · kick · clip · chip · bat · wax

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. clip — a video
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. face — part of the head
  14. chip — to eat
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chip — for betting
  19. face — to confront
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chair — a leader
  24. face — to point toward

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