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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — from crying
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spring — of water
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — for money
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. game — a match
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stand — to bear
  24. plane — an aircraft

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