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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. land — a country
  3. file — a document
  4. cue — for pool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cue — a hint
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. present — the time now
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. land — ground
  21. present — there
  22. file — a line of people
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — a signal

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