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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 120 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: row · straw · cell · arm · spell · branch · scale · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. kick — with a leg
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. branch — a division
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. scale — size or range
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spell — a short time
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spell — letters
  16. scale — in music
  17. spell — magic
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kick — in football
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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