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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. rock — a stone
  3. squash — to crush
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. charge — electricity
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rock — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. charge — in control
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. saw — the tool
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. snap — to click
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. tear — to rip

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