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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. track — a song
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cue — a hint
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. row — a line
  16. cue — for pool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. track — a path
  19. row — to paddle
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bat — the animal
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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