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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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 — a division
  4. rash — hasty
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. tube — the underground
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. vault — a safe
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. row — to paddle
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. row — a line
  23. rash — a series
  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