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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: straw · ground · branch · fork · craft · pound · roll · press

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. press — to push
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pound — a weight
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. craft — a skill
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. roll — a list
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. craft — boats
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. straw — dry grass

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