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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. squash — to crush
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. content — happy
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. drill — the tool
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. wind — moving air
  13. firm — steady
  14. drill — a practice
  15. branch — a division
  16. squash — the sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. land — ground
  19. firm — a company
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. firm — decided
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — the amount

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