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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — to sink
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mug — a cup
  8. tear — to rip
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. can — to be able to
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mug — to rob
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mug — a face
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. can — a tin
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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