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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. last — final
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. fine — high quality
  7. hand — help
  8. last — finally
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — for money
  12. object — a thing
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. object — an aim
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fine — all right
  18. object — to protest
  19. last — to go on
  20. wind — moving air
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bank — of a river
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bank — for money

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