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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. suit — to fit
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. suit — in cards
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. branch — a division
  18. saw — the tool
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. scale — size or range
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. scale — in music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. suit — clothes

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