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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 120 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pit — a hole
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pit — in a race
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. hand — help
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bound — certain
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cap — a hat
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bound — tied together
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — a lid
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cue — for pool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — to bend

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