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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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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 · fan · cell · lie · race · chair · content · tear

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lie — to recline
  13. race — a contest
  14. branch — a division
  15. race — humankind
  16. content — happy
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. content — the amount
  24. tear — to rip

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