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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. drill — army training
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — a series
  8. hand — help
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rush — hurry
  12. snap — to click
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. squash — the sport
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. squash — to crush

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