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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: bowl · rash · hand · ground · pass · saw · branch · tear

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — the earth
  4. saw — the tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — help
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pass — a permit
  24. rash — a series

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