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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to click
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. hand — help
  15. tear — from crying
  16. foot — a measure
  17. branch — a division
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wake — a trail
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. tear — from crying
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. foot — the bottom

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