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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 124 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitch — completely
  3. branch — a division
  4. board — to get on
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. board — a committee
  8. rush — hurry
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. march — music
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. march — the month
  21. hand — in cards
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. mine — for digging

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