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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. branch — a division
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. race — humankind
  9. chest — a box
  10. race — a contest
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. march — the month
  15. chair — a leader
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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