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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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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. present — there
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. tear — to rip
  9. present — the time now
  10. bat — the animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. key — the most important part
  13. chip — to eat
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. present — a gift
  20. chip — for betting
  21. key — for a lock
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. key — in music
  24. wound — an injury

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