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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. press — newspapers
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. branch — a division
  9. mine — for digging
  10. track — a song
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — a publisher
  14. club — for golf
  15. tear — from crying
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. track — to keep track
  22. press — to push
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bark — of a tree

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