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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. branch — a division
  3. band — a music group
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. lean — thin
  8. stem — to come from
  9. kid — child
  10. roll — a list
  11. band — a ring
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. roll — a cake
  14. lean — to bend
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kid — to tease
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. stem — of a plant

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