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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. tear — from crying
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. press — to push
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — to rip
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lie — to recline
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. tear — from crying
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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