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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bore — to tire
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. staff — employees
  6. branch — a division
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — a video
  10. kid — child
  11. chair — a leader
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — to tease
  20. snap — to click
  21. wind — moving air
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. branch — of a bank

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