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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — to come down
  3. firm — steady
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. firm — decided
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — of water
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. clip — a video
  12. spring — the season
  13. firm — a company
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. clip — for paper
  16. branch — a division
  17. clip — to cut
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — a cake
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. spring — a coil

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