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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. current — happening now
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. current — of water
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. branch — a division
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — to grow
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. current — electric
  24. wax — in the ear

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