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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. cue — for pool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cue — a hint
  4. last — finally
  5. cold — not warm
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — to rip
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  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