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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. craft — boats
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. toast — bread
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. craft — a skill
  10. hand — in cards
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. foot — a measure
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. snap — to click
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hand — help
  19. row — a line
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. row — to paddle

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