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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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Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cold — not warm
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — magic
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cap — a lid
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rest — a break
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spell — a short time

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