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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: mate · game · cue · tear · stand · pit · lie · band

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cue — a hint
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. mate — a partner
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. band — a ring
  13. lie — to recline
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cue — a signal
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mate — to breed
  22. game — a match
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cue — for pool

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