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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. drill — the tool
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a line
  10. tear — from crying
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. row — to paddle
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bat — the animal
  17. craft — boats
  18. drill — army training
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mate — to breed
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. row — a quarrel

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