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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cue — a signal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mug — a cup
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cue — for pool
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. mug — a face
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. squash — the sport
  19. toast — bread
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mug — to rob
  24. squash — to crush

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