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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. net — in sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. deal — to handle
  16. net — after costs
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. branch — a division
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. shower — rain

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