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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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. branch — of a bank
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. face — to confront
  5. file — a tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a line of people
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. snap — to click
  10. bass — low music
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — rain
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. branch — a division
  22. bass — the fish
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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