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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — a lid
  4. track — to keep track
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. net — in sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. net — for catching
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. branch — a division
  15. track — a path
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. net — after costs
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. lash — an eyelash

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