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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · wind · bat · branch · lash · mine

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. firm — steady
  3. mine — for digging
  4. firm — decided
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. firm — a company
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. branch — a division
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive

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