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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. spring — of water
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bass — low music
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — a division
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spring — the season
  16. season — of the year
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — in sport
  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