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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cue — a hint
  3. game — wild animals
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. game — a match
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cue — for pool
  10. tear — to rip
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. cue — a signal
  16. scale — in music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. scale — size or range
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. pop — soda

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