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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stem — to come from
  4. court — of a king
  5. pitch — completely
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. roll — a list
  8. net — for catching
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. roll — a cake
  11. net — in sport
  12. court — for sport
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wind — moving air
  17. court — of law
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. net — after costs
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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