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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: land · kid · object · lash · cold · rule · lean · branch

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — ground
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. land — a country
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. object — a thing
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — to come down
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lean — thin
  18. branch — a division
  19. object — an aim
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rule — government
  22. object — to protest
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. kid — child

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