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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. lean — to bend
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — help
  13. snap — to click
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lean — thin
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. scale — in music
  20. branch — a division
  21. hand — in cards
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. branch — of a bank

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