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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 116 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 works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. tear — to rip
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. firm — steady
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rest — what's left
  15. press — a publisher
  16. firm — decided
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rest — a break
  21. press — to push
  22. branch — a division
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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