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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 124 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. sharp — clever
  3. squash — the sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rush — hurry
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. squash — to crush
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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