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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mate — a friend
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mate — a partner
  6. craft — a skill
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. row — a line
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cue — a hint
  13. row — to paddle
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mate — to breed
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mark — a trace
  18. tear — to rip
  19. craft — boats
  20. cue — for pool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. chair — to sit on

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