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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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Word bank
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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: fan · lean · chair · tear · rock · straw · bound · cue

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bound — certain
  3. cue — a signal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. lean — thin
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — a leader
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cue — for pool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. lean — to bend
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cue — a hint
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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