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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: squash · stock · roll · pitch · branch · wind · row · straw

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. branch — of a bank
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — a division
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. squash — to crush
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stock — shares
  15. roll — a list
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pitch — completely
  18. row — a line
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stock — goods
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. squash — the sport
  23. roll — a cake
  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