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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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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: chair · shower · calf · branch · wound · straw · pound · stick

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chair — a leader
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. branch — a division

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