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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bore — to drill
  5. spring — of water
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fall — to drop
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spring — the season
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fall — the season
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bore — to tire

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