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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.

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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: kick · branch · fall · lash · bat · wake · fan · band

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. kick — in football
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. band — a music group
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. band — a ring
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fall — the season
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — a division
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. branch — of a tree

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