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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. row — a line
  4. staff — employees
  5. snap — to click
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — wild animals
  14. staff — a stick
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. chair — a leader
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — a match
  22. branch — a division
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chair — to sit on

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