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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wind — moving air
  9. last — finally
  10. tear — to rip
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bark — to shout
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mate — a partner
  21. tear — from crying
  22. last — final
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — of a tree

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