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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. mate — a friend
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bound — obliged
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. deal — to handle
  18. degree — an amount
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bound — certain
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. degree — from a university

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