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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bass — low music
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bore — to drill
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. drill — army training
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. lean — thin
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bore — to tire
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bass — the fish
  22. branch — a division
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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