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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: foot · lean · cap · hide · game · snap · bark · branch

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. foot — a measure
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. game — a match
  9. cap — of ice
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bark — to shout
  13. snap — to click
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lean — thin
  23. branch — a division
  24. game — a kind of play

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