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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fall — to drop
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fall — the season
  8. swing — music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. foot — a measure
  11. spell — magic
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — rain
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fall — to drop
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. swing — to play on
  23. tear — from crying
  24. row — to paddle

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