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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lean — thin
  3. branch — a division
  4. race — humankind
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. race — a contest
  10. rash — hasty
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. race — the arms race
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. rash — a series
  24. stock — shares

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