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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. deal — to handle
  5. ground — a position
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to click
  12. branch — a division
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. ground — the earth
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wound — an injury
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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