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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: chest · current · branch · object · fall · drill · toast · straw

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fall — to drop
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. object — to protest
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. drill — army training
  12. object — an aim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. current — electric
  15. chest — a box
  16. branch — a division
  17. object — a thing
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fall — the season
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. current — of water
  23. chest — of your body
  24. current — happening now

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