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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: clip · straw · branch · mouse · tear · current · vault · season

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. season — in sport
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — a video
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — to cut
  10. current — happening now
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. current — electric
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. current — of water
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — from crying
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. tear — to rip

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