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

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. land — ground
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. capital — money
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. lie — to recline
  24. land — to come down

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