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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: rest · branch · cold · pitcher · stick · pound · net · straw

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. net — after costs
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. branch — a division
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. net — in sport
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rest — a break

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