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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. object — a thing
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. object — to protest
  8. branch — a division
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. row — a line
  11. net — in sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. stem — to come from
  23. object — an aim
  24. branch — of a bank

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