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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. ground — a position
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. present — the time now
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. drill — army training
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ground — crushed
  13. drill — the tool
  14. present — a gift
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — a practice
  17. branch — a division
  18. stand — to bear
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. present — there
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ground — the earth

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