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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. branch — a division
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. file — a line of people
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. file — a document
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. kid — child
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. deal — to handle
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — from a university
  18. file — a tool
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. snap — to click
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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