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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cell — in biology
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. tear — to rip
  11. content — happy
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. content — the amount
  16. branch — a division
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. branch — of a tree

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