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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pit — in a race
  3. tear — from crying
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pit — a hole
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. swing — music
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stand — to bear
  19. swing — in golf
  20. tear — from crying
  21. row — a line
  22. tear — to rip
  23. row — to paddle
  24. stand — for spectators

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