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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. march — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. march — the month
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. cap — a hat
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bank — for money
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. march — the month
  21. bank — for money
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ground — a position

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