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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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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 · firm · hand · tear · track · branch · kick · kid

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. tear — from crying
  3. track — to keep track
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. hand — help
  6. firm — decided
  7. hand — in cards
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — a path
  13. firm — steady
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — to tease
  16. branch — a division
  17. kid — child
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. track — a song
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. firm — a company
  24. hand — part of the body

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