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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 120 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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bass — low music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chest — of your body
  12. net — in sport
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rest — a break
  18. bass — the fish
  19. staff — a stick
  20. branch — a division
  21. net — for catching
  22. staff — employees
  23. net — after costs
  24. rest — what's left

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