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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. snap — to click
  3. cue — a signal
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. net — after costs
  7. cue — for pool
  8. sharp — clever
  9. chest — a box
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. chest — of your body
  18. sharp — exactly

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