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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bound — obliged
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bound — tied together
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bound — certain
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. tube — the underground
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. branch — a division
  16. stock — shares
  17. tube — a container
  18. stock — goods
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. tube — in a tire

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