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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: branch · capital · staff · straw · ball · pound · march · rest

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rest — what's left
  3. march — the month
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. capital — a city
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a dance
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pound — a weight
  17. staff — a stick
  18. rest — a break
  19. staff — employees
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. staff — employees
  22. capital — money
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. straw — a straw man

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