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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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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bass — low music
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cue — a signal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cue — for pool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — a box
  19. cue — a hint
  20. rule — a law
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rule — government

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