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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chip — to eat
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rest — what's left
  5. file — a line of people
  6. branch — a division
  7. net — for catching
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rest — a break
  10. net — after costs
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. snap — to click
  13. cap — a lid
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. net — in sport
  16. file — a document
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a tool

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