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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. row — a line
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. last — finally
  5. row — to paddle
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — a container
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — child
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — the underground
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. staff — employees
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tube — in a 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