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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · squash · march · tear · capital · straw

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. dip — to sink
  4. march — the month
  5. squash — the sport
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a city
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. squash — to crush
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the vegetable

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