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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. branch — a division
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kick — in football
  22. march — music
  23. kid — child
  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