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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — a division
  3. capital — a city
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tear — to rip
  7. face — to confront
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wax — to grow
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — to sink
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. dip — a sauce

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