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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rest — a break
  11. foot — a measure
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — a division
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. squash — to crush
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. squash — the sport
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rest — what's left

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