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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. track — a song
  4. tear — from crying
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — a division
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — soda
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mine — for digging
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pop — music

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