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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cue — a signal
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pop — soda
  6. land — ground
  7. pop — music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. drill — army training
  11. bass — low music
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mate — to breed
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. pop — to visit
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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