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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. branch — a division
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chest — a box
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. game — wild animals
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bark — to shout
  17. spell — magic
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spell — a short time
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hide — to keep secret

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