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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to click
  4. wind — moving air
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cold — not warm
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — a division
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. stock — goods
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. pass — a permit
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stock — shares
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. deal — to handle
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stock — a soup base

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