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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wound — an injury
  14. season — in sport
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cell — a phone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — a series
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rash — hasty
  22. season — of the year
  23. branch — a division
  24. wound — an injury

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