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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 116 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: branch · lash · rash · deal · mine · bat · kid · shower

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rash — a series
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. branch — a division
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. deal — to handle
  12. kid — child
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. shower — rain
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. rash — hasty

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