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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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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: rest · branch · ground · straw · hand · club · wave · saw

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ground — the earth
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. club — for dancing
  6. saw — the tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. club — a group
  9. ground — crushed
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rest — what's left
  12. club — for golf
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rest — a break
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. ground — a position
  22. rest — what's left
  23. branch — a division
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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