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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: tear · wake · land · fan · branch · wind · lash · saw

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. land — a country
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — ground
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. branch — a division
  20. wake — a trail
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lash — an eyelash

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