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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. last — final
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. prune — to trim
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. last — to go on
  21. bore — to tire
  22. prune — to trim
  23. last — finally
  24. prune — the fruit

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