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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · wind · hide · court · cue · pass

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — for sport
  4. cue — for pool
  5. court — of law
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cue — a hint
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. court — of a king

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