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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: branch · staff · degree · club · fine · capital · chair · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fine — all right
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. staff — employees
  10. fine — high quality
  11. capital — a city
  12. club — for golf
  13. degree — from a university
  14. staff — employees
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. club — for dancing
  17. capital — money
  18. club — a group
  19. wake — a trail
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. degree — an amount

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