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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: straw · hand · mate · kid · spell · squash · charge · pound

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. spell — letters
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. kid — child
  8. mate — to breed
  9. spell — a short time
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — a price
  13. pound — a weight
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. mate — a partner
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — in cards
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. kid — to tease
  24. spell — magic

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