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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rash — a series
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. object — to protest
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. track — a song
  12. tear — to rip
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rash — hasty
  17. prune — to trim
  18. object — an aim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cue — for pool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — a path
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. object — a thing

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