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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rush — hurry
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — the season
  13. shower — rain
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bark — to shout
  24. branch — a division

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