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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 120 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: foot · rule · wound · club · last · branch · cap · staff

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. 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. cap — of ice
  2. club — for dancing
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rule — a law
  5. staff — a stick
  6. club — for golf
  7. last — final
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. last — finally
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. club — a group
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. last — to go on
  18. branch — a division
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wound — an injury
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wound — an injury
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. 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