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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. snap — to click
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. season — of the year
  17. bat — the animal
  18. season — in sport
  19. mark — a grade
  20. rush — hurry
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. mark — a trace
  24. branch — of a tree

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