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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. saw — the tool
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. net — after costs
  8. scale — in music
  9. bank — for money
  10. net — for catching
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — size or range
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rash — a series

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