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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. squash — to crush
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mate — a friend
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. tear — from crying
  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