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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: chair · rule · straw · mate · wake · cap · branch · spring

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. spring — of water
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. spring — a coil
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mate — a friend
  14. rule — a law
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spring — the season
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. branch — a division
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mate — to breed

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