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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.

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: pitcher · mate · tube · lash · branch · wound · kid · mine

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. tube — the underground
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mate — a friend
  6. tube — a container
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — a division
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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