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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: deal · bound · branch · hide · fall · trunk · snap · field

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — a subject
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. fall — the season
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — for sport
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. field — farmland
  18. bound — certain
  19. fall — to drop
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bound — tied together
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bound — obliged

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