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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. snap — to click
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. branch — a division
  6. ball — a great time
  7. clip — for paper
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. roll — a list
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wake — a trail
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. roll — a cake
  21. dip — to sink
  22. clip — to cut
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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