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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. row — a line
  5. bear — the animal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rock — a stone
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rock — music
  14. clip — a video
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — rain
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pound — a weight
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. row — a quarrel

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