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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. drill — army training
  7. fall — to drop
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. toast — bread
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — not warm
  14. drill — the tool
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. drill — a practice
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. row — a line

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