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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mug — a cup
  5. file — a line of people
  6. squash — the sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. face — to point toward
  9. tear — to rip
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. tear — from crying
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fine — all right
  14. face — to confront
  15. fine — high quality
  16. face — part of the head
  17. file — a tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mug — a face
  20. file — a document
  21. mug — to rob
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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