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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: wind · arm · branch · pound · lash · field

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. branch — a division
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pound — a weight
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. field — for sport
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland

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