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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 · bat · leaves · tear · craft · cell · straw · foot

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. craft — a skill
  8. tear — to rip
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cell — a phone
  13. row — to paddle
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bat — the animal
  18. row — a line
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. craft — boats
  21. tear — from crying
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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