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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: foot · kid · rash · pit · wind · tube · straw · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. foot — a measure
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tube — a container
  14. kid — child
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tube — the underground
  22. rash — a series
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. branch — a division

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