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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: wind · key · straw · branch · firm · bat · bear · last

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. firm — decided
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. firm — steady
  5. bear — the animal
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. key — for a lock
  9. last — final
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wind — moving air
  17. firm — a company
  18. branch — a division
  19. key — in music
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. last — to go on
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. last — finally

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