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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: fine · branch · cabinet · squash · cold · straw · hand · rush

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cold — an illness
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — high quality
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. branch — a division
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rush — hurry
  22. hand — help
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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