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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: branch · date · straw · sharp · track · squash · rest · tube

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. rest — what's left
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. track — a song
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rest — a break
  9. branch — a division
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. track — a path
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. track — to keep track
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. squash — the sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tube — a container
  19. date — the fruit
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rest — what's left
  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