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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 · bark · firm · tear · perch · bear · content

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. perch — the fish
  3. branch — a division
  4. bear — the animal
  5. firm — steady
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. race — humankind
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bear — the animal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. firm — a company
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. firm — decided
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. tear — to rip
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. content — the amount
  22. race — a contest
  23. tear — from crying
  24. race — the arms race

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