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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. court — for sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — for a lock
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. swing — music
  8. row — to paddle
  9. present — a gift
  10. key — the most important part
  11. court — of law
  12. lean — thin
  13. present — there
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — to bend
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a line
  20. key — in music
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. present — the time now
  23. court — of a king
  24. swing — to play on

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