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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — for paper
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ball — a great time
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bound — tied together
  8. clip — to cut
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. face — part of the head
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. face — to confront
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. court — for sport
  19. bound — obliged
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — certain
  22. ball — a dance
  23. face — to point toward
  24. branch — a division

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