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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. spring — the season
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. date — the fruit
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. charge — in control
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spring — of water
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. snap — to click
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spring — a coil
  23. charge — a price
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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