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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: hand · tear · staff · snap · game · present · branch · perch

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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. snap — to click
  3. staff — a stick
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — in cards
  7. perch — the fish
  8. present — a gift
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. staff — employees
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — help
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. tear — to rip
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. branch — a division
  20. present — the time now
  21. game — wild animals
  22. staff — employees
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. present — there

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