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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: board · toast · cell · tear · wind · branch · bear · stock

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. toast — bread
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wind — moving air
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stock — goods
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. branch — a division
  13. board — a committee
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bear — the animal
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stock — shares
  23. board — to get on
  24. tear — to rip

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