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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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Word bank
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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 · object · lean · cabinet · tear · pound

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lean — thin
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. row — a line
  10. object — a thing
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pound — a weight
  18. row — to paddle

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