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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 116 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 · mark · degree · chair · band · spell · last · cue

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. branch — a division
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. spell — a short time
  6. band — a music group
  7. degree — from a university
  8. last — finally
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mark — a trace
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spell — letters
  20. band — a ring
  21. spell — magic
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. cue — for pool
  24. mark — a grade

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