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

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. root — the cause
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. mine — for digging
  7. file — a document
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. court — of a king
  11. file — a tool
  12. court — of law
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. court — for sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fine — all right
  20. root — of a word
  21. wound — an injury
  22. branch — a division
  23. fine — high quality
  24. straw — a straw man

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