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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mate — a partner
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. squash — to crush
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — the season
  9. branch — a division
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lean — thin
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mate — to breed
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cap — a hat
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. lean — to bend
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spring — of water
  20. cap — a lid
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cap — of ice
  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