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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. suit — clothes
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. face — to point toward
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tear — to rip
  12. face — to confront
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. drill — a practice
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. snap — to click
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — to fit
  22. squash — to crush
  23. face — part of the head
  24. tear — from crying

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