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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: fall · staff · hide · jam · chair · tear · cue · mug

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — employees
  6. fall — to drop
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. mug — a face
  9. cue — a signal
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mug — to rob
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chair — a leader
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. fall — the season
  22. mug — a cup
  23. cue — a hint
  24. tear — from crying

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