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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rest — a break
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chair — a leader
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. shower — rain
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pound — a weight
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. shower — to wash
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rest — what's left

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