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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 116 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. charge — a price
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. field — for sport
  7. net — in sport
  8. tube — the underground
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — farmland
  15. squash — to crush
  16. charge — in control
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tube — a container
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — electricity
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — a subject
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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