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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 116 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. snap — to click
  5. hand — help
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — clothes
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. suit — in cards
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bat — for baseball

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