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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — the time now
  4. face — to confront
  5. tear — to rip
  6. net — after costs
  7. face — to point toward
  8. squash — the sport
  9. row — a line
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. net — for catching
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. face — part of the head
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stock — goods
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — there
  21. stock — shares
  22. branch — a division
  23. row — to paddle
  24. net — in sport

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