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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · craft · last · tear · lean · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — to rip
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wind — moving air
  8. craft — a skill
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. lean — thin
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. last — finally
  17. craft — boats
  18. tear — from crying

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