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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · straw · branch · arm · bat · stock

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. branch — a division
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — shares
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stock — goods
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fan — a supporter

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