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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: mine · cue · land · tear · cell · stick · drill · bass

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cue — a signal
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bass — low music
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mine — for digging
  9. tear — from crying
  10. drill — army training
  11. land — ground
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cue — for pool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. land — to come down
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. tear — from crying
  24. land — a country

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