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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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. craft — boats
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spell — magic
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rest — a break
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. spell — letters
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. craft — a skill
  20. snap — to click
  21. rest — what's left
  22. key — for a lock
  23. rest — what's left
  24. key — the most important part

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