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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: bark · tear · pitch · snap · mark · branch · leaves · fall

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fall — to drop
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. branch — a division
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mark — a grade
  14. pitch — completely
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tear — from crying
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. tear — to rip

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