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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. march — the month
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. branch — a division
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kid — child
  18. land — a country
  19. march — music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — the month
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. fall — the season
  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