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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cue — a signal
  5. craft — boats
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bass — low music
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. craft — a skill
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bass — the fish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cue — for pool
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. straw — dry grass

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