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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: branch · chair · racket · club · shower · rest · hand · trunk

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hand — help
  5. club — for golf
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. hand — in cards
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. club — a group
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for dancing
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. shower — to wash
  20. branch — a division
  21. shower — rain
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. racket — for tennis

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