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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. branch — a division
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — happy
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. current — electric
  13. stand — to bear
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. current — of water
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. content — the amount
  23. current — happening now
  24. wind — moving air

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