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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. snap — to click
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. hand — help
  12. bore — to tire
  13. squash — the sport
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. branch — a division
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stem — to come from
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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