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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: bat · patient · lash · capital · straw · branch · saw · racket

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. capital — money
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. branch — a division
  19. bat — the animal
  20. capital — a city
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — a big letter

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