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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fall — to drop
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. squash — the sport
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fall — the season
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. mug — a face
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chest — a box
  17. prune — to trim
  18. branch — a division
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a cup
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — of your body
  24. row — a quarrel

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