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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. root — of a plant
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — a trace
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — a song
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — the cause
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mark — a grade
  14. branch — a division
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. root — of a word
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — rain
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. track — a path
  24. mine — for digging

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