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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. race — humankind
  5. tear — to rip
  6. race — a contest
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. file — a document
  10. bear — the animal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. file — a tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cap — a lid

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