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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. present — the time now
  4. current — happening now
  5. race — humankind
  6. present — there
  7. present — a gift
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tear — to rip
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mate — a friend
  14. current — of water
  15. dip — to sink
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tear — from crying
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. current — electric
  20. race — a contest
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. tear — from crying

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