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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. swing — in golf
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. track — a path
  7. rest — what's left
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. scale — in music
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. rest — a break
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. swing — music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a ring
  20. swing — to play on
  21. scale — size or range
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. band — a music group

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