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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. snap — to click
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. press — a publisher
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — to shout
  14. hand — help
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. perch — the fish
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. press — newspapers
  22. branch — a division
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. press — to push

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