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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. content — happy
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chair — a leader
  12. branch — a division
  13. content — the amount
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. craft — boats
  19. degree — temperature
  20. craft — a skill
  21. date — the fruit
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. lash — an eyelash

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