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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. lie — to recline
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. row — a line
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. race — humankind
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. race — a contest
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — moving air
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rush — hurry
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mark — a trace
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. land — ground

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