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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. mug — a cup
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. present — there
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mug — to rob
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. mug — a face
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — child
  20. bat — the animal
  21. present — a gift
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bat — for baseball

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