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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. branch — a division
  3. rash — a series
  4. clip — a video
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. club — for dancing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rash — hasty
  10. club — a group
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. clip — for paper
  14. file — a tool
  15. club — for golf
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. file — a document
  19. present — a gift
  20. can — a tin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. can — a tin
  24. present — the time now

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