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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. 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. sharp — clever
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. tear — from crying
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — to breed
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mate — a friend
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. tear — to rip
  18. 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