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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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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: snap · wind · mug · bark · squash · fine · branch · board

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mug — a face
  3. bark — to shout
  4. snap — to click
  5. fine — high quality
  6. board — a committee
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wind — moving air
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mug — to rob
  13. branch — a division
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mug — a cup
  18. board — to get on
  19. squash — the sport
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. board — a flat piece

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