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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  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 click
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. board — a committee
  7. cold — an illness
  8. track — to keep track
  9. board — to get on
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. branch — a division
  12. band — a ring
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. band — a music group
  17. track — a path
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cold — not warm
  22. track — a song
  23. calf — a young animal
  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