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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kid — child
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. branch — a division
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. capital — money
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. season — in sport
  24. pitch — a sports field

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