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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. branch — a division
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. game — a match
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. mug — to rob
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stand — to bear
  19. pop — soda
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mug — a face
  24. stand — on your feet

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