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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. field — a subject
  3. cue — for pool
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cue — a hint
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. snap — to click
  9. toast — bread
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. rock — music
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cue — a signal
  18. field — for sport
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. tear — to rip
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. field — farmland
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tear — from crying

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