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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. row — a line
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tear — to rip
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wound — an injury
  19. row — to paddle
  20. foot — a measure
  21. band — a ring
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a music group

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