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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 116 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. shower — rain
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. net — after costs
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. net — for catching
  10. scale — size or range
  11. net — in sport
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. shower — to wash
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. scale — in music
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wake — a trail
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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