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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 116 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: straw · lean · sharp · root · net · cold · branch · last

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. root — the cause
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — after costs
  11. last — to go on
  12. root — of a word
  13. last — final
  14. net — for catching
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. net — in sport
  17. branch — a division
  18. root — of a plant
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. last — finally
  21. lean — thin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. lean — to bend
  24. sharp — clever

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