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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bound — certain
  6. pop — soda
  7. net — after costs
  8. snap — to click
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. row — a line
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. shower — rain
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. bound — tied together
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pop — music
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bound — obliged
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pop — to visit

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