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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: chest · branch · spell · wave · bay · wound · shower · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. spell — a short time
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. chest — a box
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. spell — letters
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spell — magic
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chest — of your body
  16. shower — rain
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wound — an injury

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