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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. club — for golf
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. lie — to recline
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stand — to bear
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. club — a group
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. tear — to rip

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