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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cue — a signal
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lean — to bend
  10. race — humankind
  11. tear — to rip
  12. staff — employees
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fall — the season
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cue — a hint
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. lean — thin
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cue — for pool
  24. tear — from crying

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