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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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468
Word bank
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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. present — there
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. present — the time now
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ground — a position
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rest — a break
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mate — to breed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. branch — a division
  16. file — a tool
  17. present — a gift
  18. ground — crushed
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. rest — what's left
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. mate — a partner
  24. arm — part of the body

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