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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: ruler · row · lash · net · pitcher · last · tear · branch

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — to rip
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. net — for catching
  9. row — to paddle
  10. net — in sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. last — to go on
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. row — a line
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. last — finally
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. net — after costs
  24. last — final

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