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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. branch — a division
  8. snap — to click
  9. shower — rain
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. shower — to wash
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. object — an aim
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chip — for betting
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — to protest
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. object — a thing
  24. coach — a trainer

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