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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rest — what's left
  3. net — in sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rock — music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. row — a line
  14. net — for catching
  15. spring — the season
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. rock — a stone
  19. spring — of water
  20. net — after costs
  21. rest — a break
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bulb — for light
  24. tear — from crying

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