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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. staff — employees
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. staff — a stick
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. rule — government
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — a division
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rule — a law
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. staff — employees
  24. chest — a box

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