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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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468
Word bank
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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. branch — a division
  3. face — to confront
  4. swing — music
  5. saw — the tool
  6. present — a gift
  7. snap — to click
  8. swing — to play on
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cell — a phone
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — in biology
  19. swing — in golf
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. face — to point toward
  24. branch — of a tree

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