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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. object — to protest
  3. kid — to tease
  4. band — a music group
  5. object — an aim
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. band — a ring
  9. tear — from crying
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. object — a thing
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — child
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. ground — the earth
  17. tear — to rip
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. race — humankind
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. tear — from crying
  24. race — a contest

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