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

Word bank: tear · snap · branch · rash · fall · craft · wound · fork

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rash — hasty
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fall — the season
  8. snap — to click
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. fork — in a road
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — a division
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a tree
  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