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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. game — a match
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bound — certain
  17. clip — for paper
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. foot — a measure
  20. perch — the fish
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. game — wild animals
  23. clip — a video
  24. fan — to cool the air

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