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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 · pitcher · clip · toast · branch · bat · snap · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — the animal
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. branch — a division
  8. clip — for paper
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. toast — bread
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. clip — a video
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. snap — to click
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. deal — to handle
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pitcher — a jug

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