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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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. trunk — of a tree
  3. race — a contest
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. branch — a division
  6. face — to confront
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. stand — to bear
  9. march — the month
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. march — the month
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. march — music
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. race — humankind
  23. snap — to click
  24. pound — a weight

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