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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: bat · press · snap · capital · wake · spell · branch · stick

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wake — a trail
  4. press — to push
  5. snap — to click
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. capital — money
  11. press — newspapers
  12. spell — magic
  13. bat — the animal
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. spell — letters
  17. capital — a city
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spell — a short time

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