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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 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. court — of law
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. court — for sport
  6. ground — a position
  7. pit — in a race
  8. branch — a division
  9. ground — the earth
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. court — of a king
  15. ground — crushed
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. last — final
  18. pit — a hole

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