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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. spring — the season
  5. degree — an amount
  6. season — of the year
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fine — all right
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. firm — a company
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. branch — a division
  13. firm — steady
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. degree — from a university
  20. firm — decided
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. degree — temperature
  23. season — in sport
  24. fine — high quality

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