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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. squash — the sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tear — from crying
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mine — for digging
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. root — of a word
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. tear — from crying
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. root — the cause

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