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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. land — ground
  3. ball — a great time
  4. land — to come down
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. charge — in control
  9. ball — a dance
  10. land — a country
  11. charge — a price
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. branch — a division
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. charge — electricity
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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