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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fall — to drop
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bound — obliged
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bound — certain
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bound — tied together
  14. wake — a trail
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fall — to drop
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — the season
  23. branch — a division
  24. fork — in a road

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