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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: press · row · object · bulb · land · firm · tear · fall

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. row — to paddle
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. firm — steady
  6. tear — from crying
  7. firm — a company
  8. press — to push
  9. land — to come down
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. land — ground
  14. press — a publisher
  15. object — an aim
  16. fall — to drop
  17. firm — decided
  18. fall — the season
  19. row — a line
  20. tear — to rip
  21. object — a thing
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. land — a country

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