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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pound — a weight
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. snap — to click
  7. row — a line
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. saw — the tool
  10. row — to paddle
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pop — soda
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. tear — to rip
  24. perch — for a bird

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