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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pop — soda
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rock — music
  5. staff — employees
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. pop — to visit
  9. staff — employees
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tear — to rip
  16. branch — a division
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. staff — a stick
  19. tube — a container
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. row — a line
  24. tube — the underground

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