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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: tube · tear · safe · sharp · rest · hand · branch · current

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — a break
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. tube — the underground
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. current — electric
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — a container
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. current — happening now
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — in cards
  21. sharp — clever
  22. tear — from crying
  23. current — of water
  24. safe — out of danger

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