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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. firm — decided
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. fine — all right
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. firm — steady
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. last — final
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. last — to go on
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. track — a song
  19. mine — for digging
  20. firm — a company
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. last — finally
  24. mine — belonging to me

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