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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. season — in sport
  2. cue — a signal
  3. net — for catching
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. dip — to sink
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. season — of the year
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. file — a tool
  18. net — after costs
  19. file — a line of people
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. file — a document
  23. net — in sport
  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