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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. row — a line
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rest — a break
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rule — government
  14. row — to paddle
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. rest — what's left
  17. plane — a tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — to wash
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — rain
  23. tear — to rip
  24. plane — an aircraft

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