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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: roll · cold · mark · content · row · tear · wake · craft

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. tear — from crying
  3. craft — boats
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. roll — a cake
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. craft — a skill
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. row — a line
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. content — the amount
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. tear — from crying
  18. roll — a list
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cold — not warm
  21. content — happy
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tear — to rip

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