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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rock — a stone
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. rock — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. row — a line
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chest — a box
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — finally
  19. pit — a hole
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. tear — from crying
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. tear — from crying

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