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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cue — a hint
  5. rock — a stone
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. staff — employees
  8. chair — a leader
  9. club — for golf
  10. tear — from crying
  11. staff — employees
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — not warm
  14. club — a group
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — from crying
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. staff — a stick
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rock — music
  22. cue — a signal
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. wound — an injury

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