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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
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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: snap · row · field · key · branch · land · straw · bat

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. land — to come down
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. key — for a lock
  7. land — a country
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. key — the most important part
  10. row — to paddle
  11. field — for sport
  12. key — in music
  13. row — a line
  14. bat — the animal
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. land — ground
  17. snap — to click
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. branch — a division
  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