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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bank — of a river
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. last — final
  10. branch — a division
  11. last — to go on
  12. bank — for money
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — to rip
  19. last — finally
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bank — for money
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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