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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. game — a match
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cell — a phone
  9. roll — a list
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cue — a signal
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. face — to confront
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. roll — a cake
  23. cue — a hint
  24. face — part of the head

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