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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — to rip
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lean — to bend
  12. row — a line
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mate — to breed
  15. track — a song
  16. lean — thin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. track — a path
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bass — the fish
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bass — low music
  24. prune — the fruit

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