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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — a division
  3. swing — to play on
  4. row — to paddle
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — in golf
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. hand — help
  19. tear — to rip
  20. clip — a video
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — to cut
  23. swing — music
  24. branch — of a bank

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