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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. ground — a position
  3. pop — to visit
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pop — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — to trim
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ground — the earth
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pop — soda
  18. branch — a division
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ground — crushed
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — of a bank
  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