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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · branch · bark · bass · roll · straw · stand · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. roll — a list
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. branch — a division
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bass — the fish
  19. chest — a box
  20. roll — a cake
  21. rule — government
  22. stand — to bear
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. roll — on a roll

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