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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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. snap — to snap out of it
  4. current — of water
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. branch — a division
  14. foot — a measure
  15. current — happening now
  16. kid — child
  17. wound — an injury
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. mate — a partner
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. club — for golf
  23. current — electric
  24. branch — of a bank

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