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

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mine — for digging
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. ground — the earth
  10. staff — employees
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ground — crushed
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ground — a position
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. court — of a king
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pound — a weight
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. branch — a division

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