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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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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: branch · lash · squash · cold · rest · jam · kick · perch

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rest — what's left
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. branch — a division
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. rest — what's left

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