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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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Word bank
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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: tear · fall · rush · spell · branch · prune · drill · wake

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — letters
  6. fall — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. tear — from crying
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spell — magic
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spell — a short time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fall — to drop

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