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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. vault — a safe
  6. season — in sport
  7. stock — goods
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. season — of the year
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. squash — to crush
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — to rip
  17. row — to paddle
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. row — a line

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