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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cue — for pool
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. staff — a stick
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fine — all right
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bat — the animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. staff — employees

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