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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. tear — to rip
  9. key — for a lock
  10. roll — a cake
  11. vault — a safe
  12. row — a line
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tear — from crying
  15. key — the most important part
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. key — in music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. row — to paddle

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