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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. tear — from crying
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rush — hurry
  8. kid — child
  9. row — to paddle
  10. court — for sport
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — letters
  13. court — of a king
  14. spell — magic
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. branch — a division
  17. court — of law
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wave — of the sea
  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