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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: pit · chair · ground · straw · tear · wake · saw · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pit — a hole
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ground — a position
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wake — a trail
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. ground — the earth
  18. branch — a division
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pit — in a race
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. tear — to rip

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