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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. net — for catching
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mark — a trace
  8. land — a country
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. branch — a division
  13. land — to come down
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mark — a grade
  19. land — ground
  20. file — a tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. file — a document
  23. net — after costs
  24. deal — a big deal

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