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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — for catching
  5. tear — to rip
  6. present — there
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. present — the time now
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — a gift
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pitcher — a jug

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