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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.

Make a worksheet

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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. snap — to click
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. squash — to crush
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. squash — the sport
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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