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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. board — a committee
  3. branch — a division
  4. cell — a phone
  5. perch — the fish
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. net — after costs
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — in sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pitch — completely
  14. board — to get on
  15. net — for catching
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. rash — a series
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rash — on the skin

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