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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wake — a trail
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. land — a country
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. chair — a leader
  11. land — to come down
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. land — ground
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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