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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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. squash — the sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cue — for pool
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cue — a signal
  10. fall — the season
  11. mug — a face
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fall — to drop
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bear — the animal
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mug — a cup
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bear — to put up with
  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