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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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 snap out of it
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cell — in biology
  5. branch — a division
  6. snap — to click
  7. degree — an amount
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. degree — temperature
  11. firm — a company
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cell — a phone
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. firm — decided
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. firm — steady
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wake — a trail
  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