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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. track — a path
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. hand — in cards
  9. game — a match
  10. root — of a plant
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. track — to keep track
  20. game — wild animals
  21. branch — a division
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — help
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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