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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: cap · lean · tear · stand · spell · nail · cell · row

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cap — a hat
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — magic
  13. lean — to bend
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spell — a short time
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spell — letters
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stand — to bear
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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