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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. game — a match
  4. prune — to trim
  5. object — an aim
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bound — obliged
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — tied together
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bound — certain
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. band — a ring
  16. tear — to rip
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. branch — a division
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. object — a thing
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. game — wild animals
  24. object — to protest

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