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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. sharp — clever
  4. club — a group
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. club — for dancing
  7. row — a line
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. branch — a division
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. club — for golf
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pass — a permit

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