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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: lean · tear · straw · net · cue · bank · cap · mouse

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cue — a signal
  3. net — in sport
  4. cue — for pool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cue — a hint
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cap — of ice
  15. net — for catching
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — thin
  21. bank — for money
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. straw — dry grass

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