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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. rash — hasty
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. last — to go on
  8. swing — music
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. present — a gift
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. present — there
  17. last — final
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. last — finally
  20. branch — a division
  21. swing — to play on
  22. plane — a tool
  23. rash — a series
  24. present — the time now

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