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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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Word bank
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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: bowl · march · branch · last · wave · straw · arm · staff

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. march — music
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — final
  6. staff — employees
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. staff — a stick
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. last — finally
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — a division
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — employees
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. branch — of a tree

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