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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: branch · face · bat · foot · swing · mate · straw · chair

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. foot — a measure
  3. swing — to play on
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chair — a leader
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. face — to confront
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — to breed
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. swing — music
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. face — to point toward
  17. swing — in golf
  18. face — part of the head
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mate — a partner
  23. branch — a division
  24. chair — to sit on

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