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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.

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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: lash · branch · race · swing · hand · fall · mine · court

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — humankind
  6. fall — to drop
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. hand — help
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — for sport
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fall — the season
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. court — of a king
  19. fall — to drop
  20. court — of law
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. race — a contest
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mine — for digging

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