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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: straw · fall · kid · key · mouse · bass · mine · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — child
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. key — in music
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. key — for a lock
  15. branch — a division
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fall — to drop
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bass — the fish

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