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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. branch — a division
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. scale — in music
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rush — hurry
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. lie — to recline
  20. clip — to cut
  21. scale — size or range
  22. drill — army training
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. clip — a video

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