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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. band — a music group
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. band — a ring
  22. branch — a division
  23. snap — to click
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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