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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — a cup
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cue — a signal
  10. march — the month
  11. mug — to rob
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. mug — a face
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cue — a hint
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — music
  24. cap — of ice

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