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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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 — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. branch — a division
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. capital — money
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. lie — to recline
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. snap — to click
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. degree — from a university
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. degree — an amount

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