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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. rash — a series
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bass — low music
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spring — the season
  10. branch — a division
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lash — an eyelash

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