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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: straw · mine · tear · fall · safe · pound · row · squash

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. mine — for digging
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fall — the season
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pound — a weight
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pound — to hit hard

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