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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. swing — music
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. fall — to drop
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — the season
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mug — a face
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cue — for pool
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. fall — to drop
  19. swing — in golf
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. tear — to rip

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