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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: bowl · land · branch · file · pitch · craft · squash · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. craft — boats
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. branch — a division
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. pitch — completely
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. land — a country
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. squash — the sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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