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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 116 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. rash — hasty
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. fork — in a road
  7. hand — help
  8. bear — the animal
  9. vault — a safe
  10. file — a document
  11. rash — a series
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a tool
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. branch — a division
  24. hand — part of the body

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