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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: key · straw · branch · club · tear · chest · lie · hand

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — for dancing
  5. key — in music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — the most important part
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. club — a group
  11. chest — a box
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lie — to recline
  14. key — for a lock
  15. tear — to rip
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. club — for golf

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