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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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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: arm · stick · straw · shower · branch · net · bat · row

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. net — for catching
  3. bat — the animal
  4. shower — rain
  5. row — a line
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. net — after costs
  12. row — to paddle
  13. net — in sport
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. branch — a division
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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