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

Word bank: hand · snap · wind · branch · pound · degree · hide · pass

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — an amount
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to click
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wind — to turn a key

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