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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: row · club · branch · mouse · racket · straw · stock · degree

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. club — a group
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stock — shares
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. club — for dancing
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stock — goods
  17. row — a line
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. club — for golf
  23. branch — a division
  24. degree — an amount

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