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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 120 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. last — to go on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mark — a grade
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. last — final
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — to trim

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