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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spell — letters
  5. toast — bread
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rule — government
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rule — a law
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. scale — in music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. branch — a division
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. spell — magic
  20. scale — size or range
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rule — to rule out

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