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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bound — tied together
  8. fall — the season
  9. row — a line
  10. bound — obliged
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. root — the cause
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — certain
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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