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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. plane — a tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bass — low music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bass — the fish
  13. row — to paddle
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. sharp — clever
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. row — a line
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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