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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: bound · straw · bowl · branch · current · rash · snap · clip

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — a series
  6. current — happening now
  7. clip — to cut
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bound — certain
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. snap — to click
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. current — of water
  14. bound — tied together
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. clip — a video
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. current — electric

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