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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: branch · ground · saw · club · snap · date · straw · mark

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. club — for dancing
  4. ground — a position
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mark — a grade
  8. club — a group
  9. snap — to click
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. ground — the earth
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. date — the fruit
  18. branch — a division
  19. mark — a trace
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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