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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: rush · branch · mate · snap · hand · wound · land · cue

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mate — to breed
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. land — to come down
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rush — hurry
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hand — help
  13. branch — a division
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mate — a partner
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cue — a hint
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. branch — of a tree

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