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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 · calf · arm · field · bat · saw · ball · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. saw — the tool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. field — farmland
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. branch — a division
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. field — a subject
  15. bat — the animal
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bat — for baseball

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