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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · chest · squash · deal · craft · branch · straw · mine

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. chest — a box
  7. branch — a division
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mine — for digging
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chest — of your body
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. hand — help
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. craft — a skill

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