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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bound — tied together
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pass — a permit
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bound — certain
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — obliged
  17. squash — the sport
  18. tear — from crying

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