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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spell — letters
  6. squash — the sport
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bore — to drill
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — to come down
  17. spell — magic
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. staff — a stick
  23. land — a country
  24. tear — from crying

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