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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cue — a hint
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cue — for pool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. capital — money
  18. bear — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — a city
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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