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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. row — to paddle
  3. rash — hasty
  4. saw — the tool
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. saw — the tool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — a line
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rock — a stone
  21. field — for sport
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. rash — a series

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