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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: straw · pound · mouse · branch · cold · chest · deal · fork

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chest — of your body
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. branch — a division
  15. fork — in a road
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. deal — to handle
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mouse — the animal

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