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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: bear · game · fan · branch · sharp · suit · last · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. last — final
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — to fit
  7. branch — a division
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — to go on
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. suit — in cards
  17. last — finally
  18. game — a match
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. sharp — exactly

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