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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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Word bank
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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: game · branch · degree · straw · charge · ground · ball · club

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ground — crushed
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. charge — a price
  8. club — for golf
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. club — for dancing
  14. branch — a division
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. club — a group
  17. charge — electricity
  18. game — a match
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. ball — a dance
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. charge — in control
  24. straw — dry grass

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