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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: stand · bore · sharp · straw · row · prune · tear · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. stand — to bear
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bore — to tire
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. row — a line
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bore — to drill
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — to paddle
  21. club — for golf
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. club — for dancing

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