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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. branch — a division
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. spell — letters
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. saw — the tool
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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