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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: straw · tear · cue · present · stick · fork

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — there
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. present — a gift
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cue — a signal
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tear — to rip
  16. present — the time now
  17. cue — for pool
  18. fork — in a road

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