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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — for golf
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ground — the earth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kid — child
  8. mate — a partner
  9. root — of a plant
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. mate — to breed
  13. squash — the sport
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — a position
  16. root — of a word
  17. tear — from crying
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — the cause
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mate — a friend
  23. kid — to tease
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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