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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — music
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. spring — of water
  9. shower — to wash
  10. swing — in golf
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. field — a subject
  15. branch — a division
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — rain
  21. field — farmland
  22. swing — to play on
  23. field — for sport
  24. branch — of a tree

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