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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. branch — a division
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pound — a weight
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mouse — for a computer

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