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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: sharp · fall · pop · tear · spring · race · row · last

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. pop — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. last — to go on
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. fall — the season
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fall — to drop
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — final
  19. race — a contest
  20. pop — to visit
  21. last — finally
  22. pop — soda
  23. fall — to drop
  24. sharp — clever

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