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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. last — finally
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — final
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. last — to go on
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tear — from crying
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pop — to visit

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