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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. bulb — for light
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. last — finally
  9. bulb — for light
  10. branch — a division
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. tear — to rip
  15. game — wild animals
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — a match
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. last — to go on

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