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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. firm — a company
  8. charge — a price
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. firm — steady
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. firm — decided
  21. cold — an illness
  22. charge — in control
  23. branch — a division
  24. cold — not warm

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