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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. last — final
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. squash — to crush
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. net — for catching
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. squash — the sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. nail — for a hammer

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