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

Word bank: snap · last · kid · branch · rush · fine · sharp · nail

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. last — final
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rush — hurry
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. last — to go on
  13. snap — to click
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. kid — child
  16. branch — a division
  17. sharp — clever
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — finally
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — exactly

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