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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cap — a lid
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cap — of ice
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. date — the fruit
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — a cup
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. branch — a division
  15. net — after costs
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. net — in sport
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cap — a hat
  23. tear — to rip
  24. branch — of a bank

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