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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. mug — a cup
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. march — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. branch — a division
  15. chest — of your body
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. chest — a box
  19. mug — a face
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. kid — child
  22. mug — to rob
  23. game — a match
  24. march — the month

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