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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — the season
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rush — hurry
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. spring — of water
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. branch — a division

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