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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 120 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. race — a contest
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cue — for pool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. race — humankind
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cue — a hint
  17. pit — in a race
  18. sharp — clever

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