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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: branch · straw · fall · file · kick · wax · lash · chip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. kick — in football
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fall — to drop
  6. branch — a division
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. chip — to eat
  14. fall — the season
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. file — a document
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. file — a tool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a line of people

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