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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. last — to go on
  3. foot — a measure
  4. land — a country
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. land — to come down
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. last — final
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. snap — to click
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hand — help
  20. land — ground
  21. last — finally
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. branch — a division

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