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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. snap — to click
  3. fine — high quality
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. last — final
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chip — to eat
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. last — finally
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. branch — a division
  14. fine — all right
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hand — in cards
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. last — to go on
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — help
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chip — for betting

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