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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rush · object · scale · chest · tear · prune · date

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — an aim
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. row — to paddle
  6. date — the fruit
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chest — a box
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. object — a thing
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. scale — size or range
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — of your body
  23. object — to protest
  24. scale — for weighing

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