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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mug — a cup
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. mug — to rob
  6. clip — a video
  7. field — farmland
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fall — to drop
  12. chest — a box
  13. mug — a face
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. clip — for paper
  20. field — for sport
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. fall — to drop
  23. branch — a division
  24. fall — the season

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