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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: straw · nail · stock · branch · saw · pass · shower · club

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. shower — to wash
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. club — for golf
  8. stock — shares
  9. club — a group
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. club — for dancing
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. shower — rain
  22. branch — a division
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. branch — of a tree

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