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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: straw · net · pop · branch · hand · bowl · wake · arm

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. hand — in cards
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. net — after costs
  12. pop — music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. net — in sport
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pop — soda
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. branch — a division
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. hand — help
  23. net — for catching
  24. pop — to visit

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