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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. craft — boats
  5. fall — the season
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. branch — a division
  9. snap — to click
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. spring — of water
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bat — the animal
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bound — obliged
  21. spring — the season
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fall — to drop

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