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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: straw · cue · racket · last · chest · fine · rash · tear

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. last — final
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chest — a box
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fine — all right
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — finally
  13. fine — high quality
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rash — a series
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cue — for pool
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. last — to go on
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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