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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 120 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: rule · file · lean · pitcher · straw · chest · band · branch

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — a division
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. file — a line of people
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. file — a document
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rule — government
  15. band — a ring
  16. lean — to bend
  17. file — a tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. lean — thin
  20. band — a music group
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rule — a law

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