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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. file — a tool
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a document
  11. prune — to trim
  12. board — to get on
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. board — a committee
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. branch — a division
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wound — an injury

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