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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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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: trunk · stand · tear · branch · straw · tube · mate · stick

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stand — to bear
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. branch — a division
  14. mate — to breed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mate — a friend
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tube — a container
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mate — a partner
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. stand — for spectators

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