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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tear — to rip
  6. swing — in golf
  7. present — a gift
  8. swing — music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. present — the time now
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wound — an injury
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. branch — a division
  24. bat — the animal

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