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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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. wind — moving air
  3. shower — rain
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chair — a leader
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. snap — to click
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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