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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pound — a weight
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bound — certain
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. current — electric
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. mate — a partner
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. current — of water
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. current — happening now
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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