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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. field — farmland
  5. rule — government
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. snap — to click
  10. field — for sport
  11. kid — child
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wake — a trail
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rule — a law
  22. field — a subject
  23. branch — a division
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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