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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bank — for money
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bass — the fish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. stock — shares
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stock — goods
  14. bank — for money
  15. bass — low music
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bank — of a river
  18. branch — a division
  19. chest — of your body
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. chest — a box
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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