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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bear — the animal
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spring — of water
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to click
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bear — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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