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

Word bank: snap · straw · swing · mark · file · branch · deal · pitcher

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. snap — to click
  5. file — a line of people
  6. deal — to handle
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mark — a grade
  12. file — a document
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. swing — to play on
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. branch — a division
  19. file — a tool
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mark — a trace

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