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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. rule — a law
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fork — in a road
  6. branch — a division
  7. rule — government
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. capital — a city
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. hand — help
  20. capital — money
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. spring — of water
  23. branch — of a bank
  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