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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. branch — a division
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wake — a trail
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cell — in biology
  10. ground — crushed
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — a position
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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