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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.

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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: cue · bass · branch · nail · last · straw · rule · land

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rule — a law
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. last — final
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rule — government
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — a signal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. last — to go on
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. branch — a division
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — a country
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. last — finally
  24. cue — for pool

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