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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. tube — a container
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. sharp — clever
  6. capital — money
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cap — of ice
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cap — a hat
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cap — a lid
  18. branch — a division
  19. face — to confront
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wound — an injury
  24. capital — a city

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