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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rest — what's left
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cue — a signal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. file — a tool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. present — a gift
  11. rest — what's left
  12. file — a line of people
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. cue — for pool
  17. squash — to crush
  18. file — a document
  19. present — the time now
  20. rest — a break
  21. squash — the sport
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. present — there

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