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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pop — music
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. branch — a division
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. file — a line of people
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. prune — to trim
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pop — to visit
  19. game — a match
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pop — soda
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. file — a document

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