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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. scale — size or range
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — a division
  7. deal — to handle
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. last — to go on
  11. tear — to rip
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. scale — in music
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wake — a trail
  18. last — final
  19. prune — to trim
  20. last — finally
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — from crying

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