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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stock — goods
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — a division
  10. shower — rain
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. staff — employees
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stock — shares
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. root — of a word
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bear — the animal

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