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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. branch — a division
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. club — for dancing
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. club — for golf
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. deal — to handle
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cold — an illness
  16. sharp — clever
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cold — not warm
  20. club — a group
  21. rush — hurry
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wake — before a funeral

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