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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: bark · toast · tear · cue · dip · mate · bat · chest

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bat — the animal
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cue — for pool
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chest — a box
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bark — of a tree
  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