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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. present — a gift
  5. branch — a division
  6. last — to go on
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. lie — to recline
  9. last — final
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. land — to come down
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. last — finally
  17. present — the time now
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. present — there
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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