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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. net — for catching
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. net — in sport
  5. spring — a coil
  6. last — to go on
  7. spring — the season
  8. net — after costs
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. last — finally
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — a division
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. last — final
  19. spring — of water
  20. tear — to rip
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wave — with your hand

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