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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. tear — to rip
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. land — ground
  10. perch — the fish
  11. land — a country
  12. hand — help
  13. land — to come down
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. branch — a division
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  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