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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. branch — a division
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wax — to grow
  9. row — to paddle
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. row — a line
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. tear — to rip

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