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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. bound — obliged
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to click
  8. bound — certain
  9. current — of water
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. vault — a safe
  14. march — music
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cold — not warm
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cold — an illness

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