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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. club — a group
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mark — a grade
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. branch — a division
  10. capital — a city
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. root — the cause
  17. mark — a trace
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. capital — money
  23. club — for golf
  24. straw — a straw man

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