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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. drill — the tool
  3. present — there
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. present — the time now
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. drill — army training
  16. present — a gift
  17. branch — a division
  18. stem — to come from
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. drill — a practice

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