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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mug — a face
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cell — a phone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cue — a signal
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mug — to rob
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. tear — to rip
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cell — in biology
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mug — a cup

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