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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chair — a leader
  5. content — the amount
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tear — from crying
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. dip — to sink
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tear — from crying
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cue — for pool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cue — a hint
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cue — a signal

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