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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. branch — a division
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. land — ground
  13. board — to get on
  14. land — to come down
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. land — a country
  18. board — a committee
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — army training
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. board — a flat piece

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