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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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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: rush · roll · straw · temple · branch · staff · hand · field

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. field — farmland
  3. staff — employees
  4. roll — a cake
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. hand — help
  7. field — for sport
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. field — a subject
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. branch — a division
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. staff — a stick
  20. rush — hurry
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. branch — of a tree

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