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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cue — a hint
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. suit — in cards
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. suit — clothes
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cue — for pool
  13. suit — to fit
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lean — thin
  20. snap — to click
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bat — the animal
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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