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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — a city
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. capital — money
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. row — to paddle
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — army training
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. drill — the tool
  23. row — a line
  24. bound — obliged

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