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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cue — a signal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hand — help
  8. cue — a hint
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. object — to protest
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to click
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. object — an aim
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. object — a thing
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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