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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — to paddle
  10. current — happening now
  11. object — to protest
  12. current — electric
  13. current — of water
  14. pop — soda
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. object — a thing
  18. pop — to visit
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. object — an aim
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. row — a line
  24. wind — moving air

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