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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: pitcher · firm · track · sharp · tear · fan · branch · squash

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the sport
  3. firm — steady
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. branch — a division
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — a path
  10. firm — decided
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. firm — a company
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. track — to keep track
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. track — a song
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. tear — to rip
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. squash — the vegetable

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