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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: trunk · firm · snap · season · chip · game · bat · branch

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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. chip — for betting
  3. snap — to click
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — the animal
  7. branch — a division
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. firm — steady
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — a company
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — wild animals
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. game — a match
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. game — a kind of play

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