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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cold — not warm
  4. charge — electricity
  5. march — music
  6. bank — of a river
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. charge — in control
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. charge — a price
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. march — the month

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