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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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. snap — to click
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. branch — a division
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. deal — to handle
  12. board — a committee
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. clip — a video
  20. board — to get on
  21. shower — to wash
  22. clip — for paper
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — to cut

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