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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. object — a thing
  2. row — to paddle
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — to protest
  8. fall — to drop
  9. net — in sport
  10. tear — to rip
  11. net — after costs
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stand — to bear
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. row — a line
  23. fall — the season
  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