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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 124 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — the cause
  4. rash — hasty
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — a subject
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. tube — the underground
  16. root — of a plant
  17. branch — a division
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tube — a container
  22. root — of a word
  23. bear — the animal
  24. branch — of a bank

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