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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kick — in football
  8. cue — for pool
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stand — to bear
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stand — for spectators

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