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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bank — for money
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bank — for money
  5. prune — to trim
  6. swing — music
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — the animal
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. race — humankind
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — to turn a key

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