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

Word bank: mine · tear · toast · squash · pitch · wave · row · nail

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. toast — bread
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. row — a line
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — for digging
  15. squash — the sport
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. pitch — completely

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