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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 124 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. can — to be able to
  5. pit — a hole
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spell — letters
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. spell — magic
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. row — to paddle
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. row — a line
  19. spell — a short time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pass — a permit
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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