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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 · stick · chair · stand · rash · coach · row · tear

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rash — a series
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. chair — a leader
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — a hint
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cue — for pool
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. row — a line

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