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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: tear · wound · lash · ground · branch · bulb · land · net

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bulb — for light
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. net — in sport
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. land — ground
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. ground — a position
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. branch — a division
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — for catching
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. land — a country
  22. net — after costs
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. land — to come down

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