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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pop — music
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. scale — size or range
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. pop — soda
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. file — a document
  15. pop — to visit
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — after costs
  20. file — a tool
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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