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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cue — a hint
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cue — a signal
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. present — a gift
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cue — for pool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. present — the time now
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. key — the most important part
  18. present — there
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. key — in music
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tube — a container
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tube — the underground

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