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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 120 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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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: branch · row · stand · band · bat · last · hide · straw

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. band — a ring
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. last — finally
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. row — a line
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. last — to go on
  17. row — to paddle
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. band — a music group
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. last — final
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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