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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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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: squash · mate · straw · object · pound · sharp · hand · present

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. squash — to crush
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. present — there
  12. hand — help
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. present — the time now
  15. mate — a partner
  16. object — to protest
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. object — an aim
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. present — a gift
  24. object — a thing

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