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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: pass · hand · content · wind · snap · branch · spell · saw

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. hand — part of the body
  3. spell — letters
  4. saw — the tool
  5. content — happy
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. branch — a division
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. content — the amount
  12. snap — to click
  13. spell — magic
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — a short time
  18. hand — in cards
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hand — help
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. wind — moving air
  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