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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pit — in a race
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — from crying
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cue — for pool
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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