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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: rule · perch · cue · tear · race · shower · pitch · kid

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. race — humankind
  4. cue — a signal
  5. race — the arms race
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. perch — the fish
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. kid — child
  10. rule — a law
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rule — government
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. shower — to wash
  15. kid — to tease
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitch — completely
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. race — a contest
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. shower — rain
  24. perch — for a bird

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