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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. shower — rain
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. press — a publisher
  15. drill — army training
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fine — all right
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. press — to push
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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