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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. sharp — clever
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. swing — to play on
  10. can — to be able to
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cue — for pool
  16. can — a tin
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. swing — music
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fall — the season
  23. cue — a hint
  24. sharp — exactly

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