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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. object — a thing
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cold — an illness
  9. object — an aim
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. last — finally
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. last — to go on
  19. object — to protest
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cold — not warm
  24. safe — a strongbox

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