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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: tear · court · toast · bark · mate · fall · cue · dip

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. toast — bread
  3. fall — the season
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mate — a friend
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. court — of a king
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mate — to breed
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. dip — to sink
  23. mate — a partner
  24. toast — the most admired

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