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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: racket · content · bat · branch · straw · rest · face · sharp

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — the amount
  4. branch — a division
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. sharp — clever
  8. face — to confront
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. face — to point toward
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. face — part of the head
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — happy
  20. rest — what's left
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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