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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: degree · fan · last · cue · branch · bat · snap · chip

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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. bat — the animal
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. last — final
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cue — a signal
  11. last — finally
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chip — to eat
  15. last — to go on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — for betting
  18. snap — to click
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cue — a hint
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fan — a supporter

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