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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kick — in football
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — of a king
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — a publisher
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. press — newspapers
  21. branch — a division
  22. press — to push
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. branch — 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