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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 120 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bound — certain
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cold — an illness
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cue — for pool
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lean — thin
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bound — obliged
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bound — tied together
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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