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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 116 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 · fork · row · cue · cold · face · firm · hand

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. row — to paddle
  3. hand — in cards
  4. row — a line
  5. hand — help
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. firm — decided
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cue — a hint
  11. face — to point toward
  12. firm — a company
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tear — from crying
  15. face — to confront
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fork — in a road
  19. face — part of the head
  20. firm — steady
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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