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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fall — to drop
  4. key — for a lock
  5. land — to come down
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rule — a law
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fall — the season
  12. branch — a division
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. key — in music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — to come from
  18. land — ground
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rule — government
  22. key — the most important part
  23. land — a country
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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