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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 116 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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468
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: lie · craft · dip · hand · tear · straw · object · squash

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. hand — help
  8. craft — a skill
  9. lie — to recline
  10. tear — from crying
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. tear — to rip
  13. object — an aim
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. object — a thing
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. craft — boats
  18. hand — in cards
  19. dip — to sink
  20. squash — the sport
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lie — an untruth

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