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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cue — for pool
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mate — to breed
  14. last — finally
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. capital — a city
  17. branch — a division
  18. mate — a partner
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. ball — a great time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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