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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: last · bank · bound · branch · fan · straw · date · row

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bound — tied together
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. last — final
  5. bank — of a river
  6. row — a line
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bound — obliged
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bank — for money
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. last — to go on
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bank — for money
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bound — certain
  24. branch — a division

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