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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: lash · ball · mine · craft · branch · tear · mark · last

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ball — a great time
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. craft — boats
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. last — final
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ball — a dance
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mark — a grade
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. last — to go on
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tear — to rip
  16. craft — a skill
  17. branch — a division
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. last — finally
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mark — a trace
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. tear — from crying

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