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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · race · hide · land · tear · saw

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. land — to come down
  5. branch — a division
  6. race — the arms race
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. land — ground
  11. race — a contest
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. race — humankind
  14. saw — the tool
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. land — a country

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