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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. club — for golf
  3. spring — the season
  4. chair — a leader
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. branch — a division
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. spring — of water
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bank — of a river
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. club — a group
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wound — an injury
  17. vault — a safe
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bank — for money
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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