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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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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: foot · cue · mouse · tear · wake · band · wound · pit

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. band — a ring
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. band — a music group
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tear — to rip
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cue — a signal
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cue — a hint
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mouse — the animal

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