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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · club · sharp · branch · jam · rule

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. sharp — clever
  6. club — for dancing
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. rule — a law
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. branch — a division
  15. club — for golf
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rule — government

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