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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: fork · cue · cold · suit · chest · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cue — a hint
  6. tear — from crying
  7. suit — to fit
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chest — of your body
  10. suit — in cards
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chest — a box
  15. cue — a signal
  16. suit — clothes
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fork — a garden tool

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