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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: toast · branch · straw · cabinet · stick · field · snap · perch

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. toast — bread
  6. field — farmland
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — for sport
  10. perch — the fish
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. branch — a division
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. field — a subject
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. straw — dry grass
  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