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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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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: track · kid · lean · branch · ball · race · rule · chair

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. kid — child
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. ball — a dance
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. race — a contest
  11. ball — a great time
  12. track — to keep track
  13. race — humankind
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rule — government

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