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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: wind · season · branch · straw · mouse · arm · ground · row

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. row — to paddle
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. row — a line
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. branch — a division
  22. ground — the earth
  23. season — of the year
  24. straw — dry grass

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