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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — a stick
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. kid — child
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kid — to tease
  20. staff — employees
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pit — a hole
  24. ground — a position

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