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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. degree — an amount
  3. club — for golf
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rash — a series
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — to wash
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rash — hasty
  19. club — for dancing
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. shower — rain
  24. racket — a loud noise

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