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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · rule · pitcher · branch · sharp · spell · track · snap

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. track — a song
  4. rule — a law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. branch — a division
  7. spell — magic
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. track — a path
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rule — government
  17. snap — to click
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spell — letters
  22. bat — the animal
  23. track — to keep track
  24. sharp — with an edge

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