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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. spring — the season
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spring — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. band — a ring
  17. lean — thin
  18. bear — the animal
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chest — a box
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. branch — a division
  23. chest — of your body
  24. band — a music group

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