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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: stick · cell · wave · snap · pound · band · branch · straw

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. snap — to click
  10. band — a music group
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. band — a ring
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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