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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — a division
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mine — for digging
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — the earth
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bear — the animal
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. tear — from crying
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ground — a position
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. temple — a place of worship

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