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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mark — a trace
  3. scale — in music
  4. season — in sport
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wax — to grow
  8. file — a document
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. season — of the year
  12. tear — from crying
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. net — for catching
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mark — a grade
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. net — after costs
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. net — in sport
  24. mark — to pay attention

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