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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. lean — thin
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tube — a container
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tube — the underground

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