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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pop — to visit
  5. staff — employees
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — soda
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. staff — a stick
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pop — music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lash — an eyelash

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