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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: bay · nail · wind · bear · plane · sharp · branch · tear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. branch — a division
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — clever
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bear — the animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wind — moving air
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. nail — on a finger

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