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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. file — a tool
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mark — a grade
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cue — a hint
  8. lean — thin
  9. plane — a tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. court — of law
  13. file — a document
  14. cue — for pool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. court — of a king
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. court — for sport
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mark — a trace
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. plane — in geometry

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