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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: straw · bear · ground · cap · current · land · tear · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. land — a country
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. cue — for pool
  6. land — to come down
  7. current — of water
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. current — electric
  10. current — happening now
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — ground
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bear — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cap — a lid
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cue — a hint
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — a hat

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