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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bass — the fish
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rash — a series
  14. bass — low music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mate — a friend
  20. squash — to crush
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bass — the instrument

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