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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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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: branch · arm · snap · hand · perch · net · kick · drill

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. hand — in cards
  4. drill — a practice
  5. hand — help
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. kick — in football
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. drill — army training
  19. perch — the fish
  20. drill — the tool
  21. net — in sport
  22. branch — a division
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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