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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: bowl · land · branch · race · stem · wind · face · straw

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — humankind
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. land — ground
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. race — a contest
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. branch — a division
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. land — a country
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — to come down
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. branch — of a bank

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