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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cue — a signal
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — for pool

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