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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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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: rush · straw · branch · rest · scale · content · present · hand

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — a gift
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — help
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. content — happy
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rush — hurry
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — a break
  16. present — there
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. branch — a division
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. hand — in cards

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