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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. saw — the tool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. saw — the tool
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. capital — a city
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. club — for dancing
  17. capital — money
  18. sharp — clever
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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