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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 120 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. cell — in biology
  7. rock — music
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — the month
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cue — a signal
  24. kid — child

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