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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. firm — a company
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. clip — a video
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. hand — help
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fork — in a road
  18. prune — to trim
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — for paper
  21. prune — to trim
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. hand — in cards
  24. firm — steady

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