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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. ground — the earth
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. snap — to click
  22. ground — a position
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wind — to turn a key

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