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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rest — what's left
  7. branch — a division
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pop — soda
  10. rest — a break
  11. lean — to bend
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lean — thin
  16. scale — in music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rest — what's left

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