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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. toast — bread
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kid — child
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. root — of a word
  15. shower — rain
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — the sport
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — to tease
  22. root — of a plant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. tear — to rip

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