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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cue — a signal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pit — in a race
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pit — a hole
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cue — for pool
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cue — a hint
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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