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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — not warm
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mug — a cup
  11. season — in sport
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. pop — soda
  14. cue — a hint
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pop — to visit
  17. sharp — clever
  18. pop — music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mug — a face
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cold — an illness
  23. season — of the year
  24. cue — for pool

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