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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tear — from crying
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. track — a path
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — a safe
  12. tear — to rip
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cold — not warm
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. track — a song

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