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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: race · bulb · mine · saw · branch · lash · kid · perch

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bulb — for light
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. race — the arms race
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bulb — for light

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