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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: club · spell · wind · snap · foot · branch · rule · straw

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spell — magic
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — a short time
  5. club — for golf
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. rule — a law
  10. branch — a division
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. club — a group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. foot — a measure
  18. snap — to click
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. club — for dancing
  22. rule — government
  23. spell — letters
  24. wind — to turn a key

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