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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. swing — to play on
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cue — for pool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. drill — a practice
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. swing — music
  12. mug — a cup
  13. last — final
  14. cue — a hint
  15. mug — to rob
  16. drill — the tool
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mug — a face
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hand — in cards
  21. last — to go on
  22. drill — army training
  23. swing — in golf
  24. last — finally

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