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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. last — finally
  6. row — to paddle
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. object — a thing
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wake — a trail
  13. deal — to handle
  14. object — an aim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — final
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. last — to go on
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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