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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. branch — a division
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mine — for digging
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pound — a weight
  15. saw — the tool
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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