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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — in sport
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. band — a ring
  7. key — for a lock
  8. band — a music group
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — after costs
  13. branch — a division
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. key — the most important part
  16. net — for catching
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — a leader
  19. prune — to trim
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. key — in music
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. prune — to trim
  24. band — a rubber band

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