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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. club — a group
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. snap — to click
  10. club — for dancing
  11. prune — to trim
  12. club — for golf
  13. bat — the animal
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — a division
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. net — after costs
  21. kick — in football
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. branch — of a tree

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