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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lean — thin
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. swing — in golf
  8. branch — a division
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. root — the cause
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. swing — music
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. root — of a plant
  22. lean — to bend
  23. root — of a word
  24. mine — for digging

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