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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. snap — to click
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — from crying
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fine — all right
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. tube — a container
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. tube — the underground
  23. branch — a division
  24. tear — from crying

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