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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 120 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — a break
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. pop — music
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. kick — in football
  11. row — a line
  12. pop — soda
  13. pitch — completely
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rest — what's left
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. squash — the sport
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitch — a sports field

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