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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rush · sharp · plane · branch · fall · row · bay

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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. rush — a thrill
  4. fall — the season
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. branch — a division
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. row — a line
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. row — to paddle
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. tear — to rip
  15. sharp — clever
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rush — hurry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bay — a horse colour

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