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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. snap — to click
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. track — to keep track
  7. last — final
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pitch — completely
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — to go on
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. branch — a division
  16. cold — an illness
  17. track — a song
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — finally
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. track — a path
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. arm — part of the body

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