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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. charge — a price
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fall — to drop
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fall — to drop
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. ground — a position
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mate — to breed
  16. tear — to rip
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. charge — in control
  19. tear — from crying
  20. squash — the sport
  21. charge — electricity
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — the season
  24. squash — to crush

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