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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 · straw · key · branch · bear · sharp · capital · fan

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. branch — a division
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. capital — money
  9. game — wild animals
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. capital — a city
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. key — in music
  19. game — a match
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. key — the most important part
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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