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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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 — a face
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cue — a signal
  7. rest — a break
  8. row — a line
  9. chest — of your body
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cue — a hint
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. file — a document
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. chest — a box
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chest — of your body
  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