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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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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: bat · craft · bark · branch · hand · lash · march · object

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. object — to protest
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. object — a thing
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. object — an aim
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — to shout
  17. branch — a division
  18. march — music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. craft — boats
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — the animal
  23. craft — a skill
  24. march — the month

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