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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spring — the season
  5. chest — of your body
  6. perch — the fish
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spring — of water
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. deal — to handle
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — a division

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