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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wake — a trail
  5. plane — a tool
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mate — a friend
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mine — for digging
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cell — a phone
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cell — in biology

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