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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — to visit
  6. board — a committee
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bank — for money
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bank — for money
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pop — soda
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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