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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: club · coach · key · chair · branch · stick · race · straw

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. club — a group
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. key — in music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. race — a contest
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a leader
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. key — the most important part
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. race — humankind
  24. club — for golf

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