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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: cue · sharp · bore · perch · bat · stick · tear · mine

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bat — the animal
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. tear — from crying
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cue — for pool
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. tear — to rip
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cue — a hint

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