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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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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: pitcher · object · straw · staff · bat · spring · branch · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spring — of water
  7. fall — the season
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. staff — employees
  12. object — a thing
  13. staff — a stick
  14. object — an aim
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bat — the animal
  17. branch — a division
  18. spring — a coil
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. staff — employees
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. object — to protest
  23. spring — the season
  24. straw — dry grass

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