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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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. arm — part of the body
  3. capital — money
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. rush — hurry
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. snap — to click
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. firm — steady
  12. branch — a division
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. firm — decided
  17. mug — a face
  18. capital — a city
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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