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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bark · last · file · bat · roll · mate · branch · lash

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. branch — a division
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. last — to go on
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. file — a document
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. last — final
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bat — the animal
  18. roll — a list
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. last — finally
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bark — to shout
  24. file — a tool

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