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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: arm · press · straw · ground · bay · branch · rest · spell

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. ground — crushed
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rest — what's left
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — letters
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ground — a position
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spell — magic
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. branch — a division
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ground — the earth

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